Recently, magnetic recording/reproducing apparatuses, particularly, camera-incorporated type VTRs are required to be compact in size and highly accurate, and particularly, a great technical task is required to construct a tape running path (referred to as "a tape path", hereinbelow).
A tape path of a conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG. 5.
FIG. 5 shows a tape path in a conventional helical scanning-type magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus having a rotary magnetic head in a state with a tape completely loaded therein. In FIG. 5, 1 is a magnetic tape, 2 is a supply reel on which the magnetic tape 1 is wound, and 3 is a take-up reel 3 by which the magnetic tape 1 is wound up, which are accommodated in a cassette 4. Furthermore, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are, respectively, a first, second, third, fourth and fifth vertical posts which are perpendicular to a running direction of the magnetic tape 1 (running length being indicated by an arrow L in the figure), while 10 and 11 are a first and a second inclined guide posts which are not perpendicular to the running direction L, that is, they are inclined with a predetermined inclination to the running direction L. A rotary head cylinder 12 is arranged with a predetermined inclination such that it is not perpendicular to the running direction L of the magnetic tape 1. The rotary head cylinder 12 performs recording/reproducing of signals to the magnetic tape 1. A capstan 13 and a pinch roller 14 are disposed at right angles to the running direction L of the magnetic tape 1.
The second vertical post 6, rotary head cylinder 12 and capstan 13 are set at a fixed positions with respect to a chassis 15. The remaining first, third, fourth and fifth vertical posts 5, 7, 8 and 9 and the inclined guide posts 10 and 11 take out and guide the magnetic tape 1 from the cassette 4 as indicated by arrows A, B, C and D, so that the magnetic tape 1 is wound at a predetermined angle onto the rotary head cylinder 12.
The pinch roller 14, moving as indicated by an arrow E, presses the magnetic tape 1 against the capstan 13, and the magnetic tape 1 is transferred in a direction shown by the arrow L by the capstan 13 which is rotated by a motor (not shown).
The tape path in the conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus of the above-described constitution is described hereinbelow.
In the state of FIG. 5, in which the tape is completely loaded, the magnetic tape 1 runs horizontally, in other words, it runs parallel to the chassis 15 from the supply reel 2 to the third vertical post 7. The magnetic tape 1 is then inclined, by the first inclined guide post 10, wound at predetermined angles on the rotary head cylinder 12, and is returned to the horizontal position by the second inclined guide post 11. The magnetic tape l is sent horizontally afterwards by the fourth vertical post 8, pinch roller 14, capstan 13 and fifth vertical post 9 to be finally wound around the take-up reel 3.
Regarding the running of the magnetic tape 1, in order to run the magnetic tape 1 without damaging the tape and in order to wind the tape at a predetermined angle onto the rotary head cylinder 12 with high accuracy, it is necessary to realize highly accurate positioning and inclination of all inclined guide posts.
However, since the first and second inclined guide posts 10 and 11 are provided inside the tape path in the conventional arrangement as described above, the guide posts can not be fixed to the chassis 15 and were required to shift at the time of tape loading. It was consequently disadvantageously difficult to realize highly accurate positioning and inclination of the inclined guide posts in a state where the tape loading was completed.
Moreover, not only are the first and second inclined guide posts 10 and 11 required to be moveable, but many other post members, i.e., the first, third, fourth and fifth vertical posts (5, 7, 8 and 9) and pinch roller 14 are also required to be moveable, during the tape loading time, due to the location thereof inside the tape path. As such, other mechanisms or members could not be located in the space where the these post members move, and various mechanisms were required to move the many post members as mentioned above, and therefore, there was a problem in that the apparatus was hard to be made compact.
The present invention has been devised so as to solve the above-described problem and has, for its object, to provide a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus which achieves highly accurate running of a tape and miniaturization of an apparatus main body.